Projectile.



T. A. EDISON.

PROJECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12. I916.

1,300,708, Patented Apr. 15; 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS A. EDISON, 0F LLEWELLYN PARK, WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

rnoJncrmE.

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Application filed February 12, 1916. Serial No. 77,833.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS A. EDISON,acitizen of the United States,-and a resident of Llewellyn Park, WestOrange, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Projectiles,

of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to projectiles and especially to projectiles foruse in guns of large caliber, being in some aspects an im.

provement on the inventions disclosed in my copending applicationsSerial No. 73868,

ing force, opposing the action of gravity, to be exerted on theprojectile when in flight,

'to thereby render it possible to obtain with such a projectile acomparatively flat trajectory and a greatly increased range as comparedwith projectiles heretofore used when discharged under similarconditions.

Another object of my invention is to provide the projectile withstabilizing means in addition to and preferably cooperating with thelifting or raising means above mentioned, for preventing the projectile,when in flight, from rotating about its longitudinal axis and fromhurtling or turningend over end, to thereby render such lifting or 7raising means much more effective.

-Other objects and features of my invention will be hereinafter morefully described and claimed.

In order that my invention may be. more clearly understood, attention isdirected to .the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away, of aprojectile constructed in accordance with my invention, and showing thesame substantially in the position it occupies when in flight and withthe wings or vanes thereof in operative or open position;

Fig. 2 is an' end view of the projectile looking from the right in Fig.1; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, showing thewings or vanes in inoperative or closed position.

Referring to the drawing, my improved projectile preferably comprises amain cylindrical body portion 1 and a forward end ed grooves portionhaving a pointed head or nose 2.

The forward end portion of the projectile has a rear cylindrical portionof slightly greater diameter than the body portion 1, whereby a shoulder3 is formed on the projectile at the rear end of said forward endportion. The head end portion of the projectile is preferably madeheavier than the rear end portion thereof, as by providing the latterwith a cylindrical longitudinally extending recess or cavity 4, wherebythe pro- V of the projectile. At. its rear end the projectile ispreferably provided with a suitable collar 6, which may be integraltherewith but which is preferably in the form of a copper ring suitablyapplied and secured to the I projectile- The copper-ring 6 is preferablyslightly greater in diameterthan the main bore of the gun for which theprojectile is designed, whereby when the projectile is forced throughsaid main bore upon the discharge of the gun, the pressed so as totightly fit the said main bore and will act as a packing to prevent theescape of gases past the projectile. A cylindrical collar 7 adapted toclosely fit the main bore of the gun for which the projectile isdesigned, is suitably formed on or secured to the cylindrical portion ofthe forward end said ring will be com- I portion of the projectile withthe rear end 1 thereof flush with the shoulder 3. The collar 7 ispreferably provided with a cylindrical extension 8 projecting forwardlyover the nose 2,'thereby forming an annular space 9 between theextension 8 and nose 2. The projectile is referably provided beneath thecollar 2 with a plurality of straight longitudinally extending open-end-10 which are equally spaced circumferentially of the projectile. Thegrooves 10 are preferably parallel to the longitudinal axis of theprojectile, and the forward ends thereof preferably communicat with theannular space 9 and terminate in the nose 2. The grooveslO preferablyextend a short distance rearwardly beyond the collar 7, such rearwardlyextending portions gradually decreasing in depth and shown in thedrawing is provided with only two grooves 10, it is to be understoodthat 11 normally. extending laterally therefrom;

the same may have any number of such grooves. When the projectile is inflight,

the air caught or entrapped in the annular space 9 is forced with greatvelocity through the grooves 10 and coacts with the walls ofsuch groovesto overcome ,anytendency which the projectile may have to hurtle or turnend over end, and also any tendency which the projectile may have toturn or rotate about its longitudinal axis, as described in my copendingapplication Serial No. 77,832 referred to above. The air will also coactwith the shoulder formed by the collar 6 on therear end of theprojectile, to

revent tipping of said end and thereby the hurtlingtof the projectilewhen in flight.

In addition to the stabilizing means above described comprising thecollar 7, annular space 9, grooves 10 and collar 6, I also provide theprojectile with means preferably in the form of a plurality of wings orvanes which will cause a lifting. or raising force, opposing the actionof gravity, to be exerted on the projectile when in flight, and therebyrender it possible to obtain with such a projectile a comparatively flattrajectory and a greatly increased range. Preferably only two suchwings-or vanes are employed, and these wings or vanes are preferablypivotally mounted on the cylindrical body portion 1 of the projectilejust to the rear of the collar 7 and preferably substantially over thecenter of gravity of the projectile, by means of a pair of rods 12 towhich the wings are respectively secured by lugs 13, the rods 12 beingrespectively loosely mounted inv pairs of lugs 14. and 15 formed on asupporting member or bracket 17 rigidly secured to the said bodyportion 1. Coiled springs 16 looselymounted on rods 12 and having theirends bearing against the projectile "and the wings 11 respectively,constantly tend to force the wings to operative or open position, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2. The supporting member or bracket 17 is providedwith outstanding stops 18 to limit the extent to which the wings openunder the action of the springs 16. The pivots ofthe wings or vanes 11are preferably symmetrically disposed on either side of and above thelongitudinal axis of the projectile,

with reference to the normal position of the projectile-when in flight,as shown in the drawing. The pivots of the wings or vanes 11 and thewings themselves are preferably inclined away from the longitudinal axisof the projectile toward the head end of the latter as shown in Fig. 1,the wings or vanes being warped so as to he closely against thecylindrical body portion 1 when turned springs 16'to folded or closedposition, as

shown in Fig. 3. At their rear end' the grooves 10 preferablyrespectively terminate beneath the forward end portions of the wings orvanes when thelatter are in closed position. v

When the wings or vanes 11 are-folded or closed, the same lie within thecontourv of the collar 7, thereby permitting the projectile to bereadily inserted in the gun for which it is designed. Vhen theprojectile is discharged from the gun, the springs16 and the airemerging from the rear end of grooves 10 will at once force the vanes toopen or operative position, as shown in Figs.

1 and 2. During the flight of the projectile .85 about its longitudinalaxis, and also to cause a raising or lifting force to be exerted on theprojectile.

The results due to providing the pro'ectile with the wings or vanes asdescribed erein may be varied reatly without departing from thisinvention, by changing the number, size, disposition and inclination ofthese wings or vanes, The wings may also be so mounted on the projectilethat the inclination thereof with respect to "the longitudinalaxis ofthe projectile may be varied; and sultable mechanism may be employed,operable by the air or by other means, to automatically increase theinclination of the wings during the flight of the projectile in such amanner as to compensate largely for the decreasing speed of theprojectile.

While I have specifically described and shown but one embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that various changes and modificationsin addition to those above mentioned may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent is as follows r 1. A projectile having a plurality ofwings mounted thereon, and a plurality of longitudinally extendingopen-' ended grooves extending forwardly from said wings andrespectively terminating at their rear ends beneath the forward endportions of such wings, substantially as described.

2. A projectile provided with a plurality of longitudinally extendingopenended grooves and with a pair of wings or vanes normally extendinglaterally therefrom, said wings or vanes being symmetrically disposedwith respect to the longitudinal axis of the projectile substantiallyover the center of gravity thereof, substantially as described.

3. A projectile having a reduced forward end portion .or nose, saidprojectile having a cylindrical extension projecting forwardly over saidnose and forming an annular space between said extension and nose, theprojectile being provided with a plurality of longitudinally extendingopen ended grooves the forward ends of which communicate with saidspace, and with a plurality of Wings or vanes normally extendinglaterally therefrom, substantially as described.

4. A projectile having a plurality of wings mounted thereon, and aplurality of longitudinally extending grooves, said grooves respectivelyterminating at their rear ends beneath said wings, substantially asdescribed.

5. A projectile provided with a plurality of grooves, and a plurality ofvanes or wings, said grooves being so arranged that fluid passingtherethrough due to the travel or flight of the projectile will 'bedirected beneath said vanes or wings, substantially as described. I

6. A projectile provided with a plurality .of longitudinally extendinggrooves and with a plurality of vanes or wings movably mounted thereon,said grooves being so disposed that fluid passing therethrough due tothe travel or flight of the projectile assists in openingsaid vanes orwings, substantially as described.

7. A projectile provided with a plurality of longitudinally extendinggrooves and with a pair of vanes or wings movably mounted thereon, saidvanes or wings being symmetrically disposed with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the projectile, and said grooves being so arrangedthat fluid passing therethrough due to the travel or fllght of the,projectile assists in; opening said vanes or wings, substantially asdescribed.

'8. A projectile having a wing mounted thereon, and a longitudinallyextending groove, said groove terminating at its rear end beneath saidwing, substantially as described.

9. A projectile provided with a groove and with a, vane or wlng, saidgroove being

